The invention relates to new and useful improvements to a man-machine interface (MMI) for airport traffic control purposes. More particularly, the invention relates to a man-machine interface (MMI) for safe taxiing and/or approach-departure control at an airport, having a display area on which processes and situations at the airport can be displayed and, possibly, can be influenced, for example the movements and the current positions of aircraft, and, possibly, vehicles, and lighting system switching states, etc.
The man-machine interfaces (MMI) in airport control centers, for example in air traffic control towers, have until now comprised relatively small screens, arranged in groups alongside one another. The screens are connected to computer units in which the information relating to an airport is collected, processed and changed to a form which can be displayed. Examples, in particular relating to processing, can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,374,932, 5,485,151 and 5,262,784, which are incorporated into the present application by reference. Also incorporated by reference are: EP 0725283, FR 2634945, EP 0714082, DE 19504923, FR 2668012, DE 4216281, GB 2289556, and DE 4304562.